On 23rd of September we celebrate the International Day of the Liberal Professions – an occasion to highlight the value and the economic and social role of millions of professionals working every day to ensure justice, public health, financial transparency and environmental protection.

Fundamental in the complex relationship between markets, public administrations, and citizens, the liberal professions today represent an essential pillar for sustainable development and economic growth in a society based on the rule of law.

Thanks to the transversality of their skills and experience, which span all fields of knowledge, liberal professions are an economic and social force governing the profound changes imposed by technological and environmental transition processes. The disruptive impact of digitalisation and the consequences of climate change are just the tip of the iceberg of broader imperatives to combine competitiveness, sustainability, and the pursuit of a healthy work-life balance.

The International Day of the Liberal Professions is a time to reflect on the challenges we face in a social context characterised by profound inequalities that feed into worrying identity politics and in a political context marked by divisions and conflicts that foster oppressive regimes.

In that context, millions of liberal professionals continue to stand and fight for the respect of human rights in every corner of the world.

The International Day of the Liberal Professions is, therefore, a fitting tribute to the millions of professionals who do their work in sometimes precarious circumstances, who put their duty before their own well-being to uphold the ethical values that characterise the essence of the profession, who work every day to save lives, help citizens, support businesses, and create a better society.

Ceplis-President Gaetano Stella